News | Mail Online

We’ve already seen a few sites on which buyers can pay by unusual means — a recent example beingSocialWhispers, where tweets or Facebook mentions can be used in place of cash. It wasn’t until just recently, however, that we came across a site that lets consumers pay with hand-me-downs. Sure enough,Clothing for Correspondence is an Australian letter-writing service that asks only an item of clothing in return for its written work.

Users begin by contacting the service via email and explaining what type of correspondence they need; letters are the company’s primary focus, but it has previously penned other items as well, including a song. In any case, users then provide the necessary details, including — for letters — who it’s for, the main points to be addressed, the style in which it should be written and any relevant back story to be aware of. Clothing for Correspondence then writes the item and emails it to the user, who sends the company an item of hand-me-down clothing in return.

A letter-writing service is compelling enough in this OFF=ON era, but the addition of swap payments adds an element of quirkiness and sympvertising that’s hard to resist. One for inspiration!